Fleetwood May Reopen Ohio Trailer Plant

Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. plans to reopen its plant in Edgerton, Ohio, to help build travel trailers and temporary housing for victims of the Gulf Coast hurricanes.
The Toledo Blade reported that the opening of the plant – idled in late 2004 and affecting 250 workers – is dependent on a state panel approving an application for a five-year, 60% tax credit.
According to the Blade, the company proposes to invest $755,000 to reopen the plant if job-tax credits are approved. In return, it would hire 200 full-timers within three years.
The jobs, the application said, would pay about $12.25 an hour. A Fleetwood spokesman said proceeding hinged mainly on getting the tax credits.
If the Ohio Tax Credit Authority approves the project, Fleetwood would have to keep operations at the plant for 10 years, state paperwork indicates.
Riverside, Calif.-based Fleetwood said in 2004 it would close its 37-year-old Edgerton facility and shift work to plants in Indiana and Kentucky.
Fleetwood’s corporatewide travel trailer production, however, received a boost when the company signed a contract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Fleetwood reported in late 2005 an order to build 10,600 stripped-down travel trailers – now classified as Emergency Living Units (ELUs) by the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) – and 3,000 single-section manufactured homes for FEMA.
Fleetwood said it is also working with industry groups to provide homes, travel trailers, and motorhomes for hurricane victims.